John McCain yesterday suspended his presidential bid and offered his personal “best wishes” to Republican nominee-to-be George W. Bush — but pointedly stopped short of endorsing, or even praising, him.

By contrast, Democratic loser Bill Bradley also bowed out, but he pledged to help elect Al Gore, saying: “Now it is time for unity.”

The back-to-back exits –Bradley at 11 a.m., McCain at noon — left Democrats united behind Gore while the GOP remained fractured.

McCain could play a pivotal role, because the independents and moderates who backed him against Bush in the primaries are the swing voters who often decide elections.

But he gave no clue yesterday to what, if anything, he’ll do to help Bush beat Gore — saying only that the Texas governor deserves good wishes since he “may very well become the next president of the United States.”

Those lukewarm words for Bush were in sharp contrast to McCain’s passionate vow — standing in front of glorious snow-capped mountains — to press his own fight for “the necessary cause of reform.”

“I love my party. It is my home … but I’m also dedicated to the necessary cause of reform, and I will never walk away from a fight for what I know is right and just for our country,” said the Arizona senator, who intends to return to the Senate on March 20.

By suspending his campaign rather than formally ending it, McCain can continue collecting federal matching funds and the door remains open for him to mount a platform fight on campaign reform at the GOP convention.

One of McCain’s reform goals is an end to unrestricted “soft money” — like the $2.5 million Texas billionaire Sam Wyly paid for anti-McCain attack ads broadcast in New York.

Bush called McCain yesterday to thank him for withdrawing, and a Bush aide said “there were lots of extensions of olive branches,” including one from top Bush strategist Karl Rove to McCain adviser Vin Weber.

But there was no sign Bush is prepared to adopt any of McCain’s views on soft money or smaller tax cuts, or to apologize for the hardball tactics McCain’s friends say infuriated the Arizona senator.

“I don’t imagine Gov. Bush would be changing his positions at all,” said spokeswoman Mindy Tucker.

She said Bush hasn’t apologized to McCain, but she didn’t rule out a future apology, saying: “That would be a discussion between the candidates, hopefully.”

On the stump in Colorado, Bush thanked McCain and insisted he’s equally committed to reform — but defined that as aiming “to get rid of Clinton-Gore” rather than ending soft money.

“I hope we can [meet] at some point,” Bush added. “There needs to be some time to settle out. John needs some time to think, and I need some time. I think when all’s said and done, we can have a good dialogue.”

McCain aides were emphatic that it’s up to Bush to make the first move.

“It’s up to the Bush campaign as to how they want to handle us. They’re the ones running for president,” said McCain campaign manager Rich Davis.